


True North

by Thank_You_Kindly



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Legit just a conversation I thought should happen, North PoV, North is angry, Peaceful End, Post-Canon, but i love her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-07 12:08:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15907977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thank_You_Kindly/pseuds/Thank_You_Kindly
Summary: 'Anderson turns to her, clearly surprised by her sarcastic reply and laughs.It’s a delighted thing, though short lived. “Feel like telling me why? If I can’tget you drunk the least I can do is let you vent at a stranger.”North pauses at this, considers her options. “Not a total stranger, thoughwe’ve never met. Connor talks about you a lot Lieutenant Anderson.”'Just a short and honest conversation between North and Hank after the peaceful ending of the game.I wanted more North than we got so ta dah! My favorite two grumpy people from the game having a chat.





	True North

**Author's Note:**

> 'Anderson turns to her, clearly surprised by her sarcastic reply and laughs.  
> It’s a delighted thing, though short lived. “Feel like telling me why? If I can’t  
> get you drunk the least I can do is let you vent at a stranger.”
> 
> North pauses at this, considers her options. “Not a total stranger, though  
> we’ve never met. Connor talks about you a lot Lieutenant Anderson.”'
> 
> Just a short and honest conversation between North and Hank after the peaceful ending of the game.  
> I wanted more North than we got so ta dah! My favorite two grumpy people from the game having a chat.

North practically runs from the meeting, pulse high and head pounding. There’s a pressure in her chest that burns and all she can do to chase it away is move. So she storms out into the cold and breathes deep. Hoping the cold will help to ease it. It’s still snowing in Detroit, though barely. In the grand scheme of things it really hasn’t been long since the revolution. Certainly not long enough for the fire in her chest to burn out. She had never really had the chance to let it; there had been no opportunity to release it. Just terrifying marches towards people who could have killed her with the twitch of a finger and felt nothing in the face of it. Desperate flights in the dark hoping that they would all be fast enough to escape death; guilt, that followed the relief of knowing that the only ones who died were people she barely knew and not the people she loved. All it had done was send the flames higher and help them burn hotter. She wanted to scream and thrash to let it all out, to make the world and all the people that had lit the fire burn as she did. But she couldn’t. It would threaten the precious peace that Markus had fought for, that their people had died for. Looking back North could understand why he had done it, she knew why it was so important but there was a part of her that hated her friends for doing it this way, for making her keep the fire in and try and smother it alone. It was so hard when every time she closed her eyes all she could see were vacant faces and snow stained blue.The perfect face of her counterpart staring at the sky, mere minutes after she had been given a chance at a life of her own.

North hadn’t had a destination in mind when she stormed out into the cold, she’d let her feet carry her as far and as fast as they could from that godforsaken party. She finds herself in a part of Detroit she hasn’t seen before. The water stretches out in front of her and there’s a children’s park a little farther along the path. It’s quiet and she would have thought she was alone if not for the gentle sound of glass against wood. Searching for the source of the sound North sees a grey haired man sitting on the bench, a pack of beer at his feet. It’s obvious he’s human and for North the calm illusion shatters. Her shoulders climb towards her ears and she forces her spine to straighten and tilts her head up, fully intending to continue past him. She feels ridiculously vulnerable in her party clothes, wishing not for the first time that she had just dressed as usual.

As she nears the man she scans him out of the corner of her eye, they have made peace with the humans but that doesn’t mean she trusts them anymore than she did. She’s surprised by what she finds, and it startles her to a stop when she realises she knows him. It’s Lieutenant Anderson, the man who helped Connor in Cyberlife Tower. When she stops he looks up at her a scowl set between his brows, though it softens a little as he takes her in.

“Can I help you?” he asks, one cautious eyebrow raised.

“I…”, Norths eyes flick down, “Probably not.” She says it with a wry twist to her lips, thinking that he hadn’t meant it literally but realising there wasn’t another answer to give.

“You in trouble?” He sounds genuinely concerned now, eyes darting over her frame in search of damage that isn’t there.

North chuffs and looks back up, “No, that might be the problem.”.

“Care for a seat?”, he gestures to the bench next to him, “I’d offer you a beer but I don’t think it’d do you much good. Though you look like you could use one.”

North hesitates for a moment, gauging the man in front of her. She’d never had anything to do with the Lieutenant, but she’d heard what Connor had to say. If even half of what he said was true this man was trustworthy and she needed to to something to ease the burning in her chest. Maybe it would be easier to talk about it with someone she hardly knew, someone who’s judgement wouldn’t carve something precious out of her.

Sitting down she asks, “What’s it like, being drunk?”.

The Lieutenant chuckles and takes a swig of his beer. “That depends on how much you drink. But generally? It sorta takes the edges off the world and makes it fuzzy. It brings the walls down and let’s you forget a little, if that’s what you’re tryin’ to do.”

North stares wistfully at the six pack next to Anderson. “You’re right, I could use a drink right now.”

Anderson turns to her, clearly surprised by her sarcastic reply and laughs. It’s a delighted thing, though short lived. “Feel like telling me why? If I can’t get you drunk the least I can do is let you vent at a stranger.”

North pauses at this, considers her options. “Not a total stranger, though we’ve never met. Connor talks about you a lot Lieutenant Anderson.”

He puts the beer down and looks her over again, his eyes sharp despite the two empty bottles on the bench. “You North?”, she nods in reply, “Well shit.” He reaches for another beer, “ This city gets smaller every day.” He takes a long pull from the bottle and side eyes her. “You may as well call me Hank, kid. I ain’t working and god knows you don’t need to be talking to a cop right now.”

North only nods in return but finds she appreciates the gesture. It seems more level somehow if they’re just Hank and North.

They sit together in comfortable silence for a while, watching the snow fall. It might be the last of it this year and that stirs something strange in her. It feels like it’s been winter forever.

“Why do you come here?” She asks, turning slightly to face him.

Hank frowns and clutches the bottle. “It used to be a happy place for me. It ain’t really anymore but it’s a good place to remember. A good place to think.” He turns to her, “What about you? You don’t really strike me as the park going type.”

North huffs a breath, “I’ve never really been in a position to find out. But it wasn’t really the plan.” She pauses again, deciding how honest she wants to be. “I just needed out I guess.”

Hank hmphs and stares back out over the water. “This have anything to do with that schmoozing party with government idiots that Connor was talking about?”

North tenses and stares at the side of Hanks head but he doesn’t turn to her. She considers denying it but god she needs to talk about it. She wants to, if only to hear it out loud. “I just couldn’t listen to it anymore. All those people fawning over Markus and the others when a couple of weeks ago they were the ones that tried to bury us.”

North clenches her jaw and screws her eyes shut. Hands trembling into closed fists.

“I wanted to hurt them, to scream at them for what they did. For what they allowed to happen and I couldn’t. We have to be so goddam careful and play nice and I just can’t. I can’t just put it away like the others have. I’m not even sure I want to.”

Her chest is heaving when she finished. As she opens her eyes she realises Hank is still staring forward. Giving her the illusion of privacy as she shakes the anger and hatred out of her chest.

“They would deserve it…” sneaks past her lips in a whisper, the truth of it burning as it finally reaches open air. And suddenly she remembers that the man sitting next to her is human too. But Hank just sighs, and looks tired all of a sudden.

“Yeah, they would”, North’s head snaps up, “But believe me kid it wouldn’t really help.” He finally turns back to face her, beer forgotten by his feet. “I’ve been angry for so long and all it did was burn me up and push people away. It’s useful for keeping you going, for holding you up when everything else is gone, but you can’t use it forever.”

He starts fiddling with something in his pocket and stares off into the middle distance.

“You gotta find something else that makes you want to be happy. So you don’t have to hate the world just to get through the day.”

He pulls a coin out of his pocket and runs his thumb over it’s face. “Saying that, you gotta find that for yourself. Don’t let anyone tell you that you gotta put that away before you’re ready.” He meets her eyes again, staring almost through her. “And you don’t have to forgive them for any of it. Fuckin’ especially if they won’t even acknowledge their own bullshit. Shit…you’re allowed to be angry.”

North is frozen as Hank speaks, this tired grouch of a man knows what she’s feeling, he’s stood where she stands and isn’t judging her for it or telling her it’s unnecessary. She feels vindicated, the ache in her chest subdued by the simple act of talking about it. Of acknowledging it without being ashamed of herself for it. She is angry, it’s a constant hum through her daily life. Such a big part of her that she doesn’t really know who she would be without it.Angry almost seems like too small a word for it. Hank gives her a grim, lopsided smile and she realises that if this broken man can move on so can she, even if it takes her years to get there.

They sit together for a while longer. Hank makes no move to drink the rest of his beer and it’s only when the temperature drops another notch that he finally pulls himself off the bench.

“Well as nice as this has been it’s cold as balls out here.” He pulls his keys out of his jacket pocket and looks at North, “Can I give you a lift anywhere?”.

She considers a moment before gently shaking her head and offering up a small smile of her own, “Nah, maybe next time.”

Hank chuckles and heads for his car, “Next time them.”

Just before he climbs inside North calls to him, “Hey, Hank?”.

He pauses, one leg in, “Yeah?”.

North ducks her head before forcing herself to meet his eyes. “…Thank you”.

The lopsided smile is back as he replies, “No problem kid.” and climbs in the car.

As he drives away North turns back to the water, tilting her head up to watch the snowflakes fall towards her. It’s peaceful, and for the first time North lets herself really feel it. Puts away the fear and the vigilance and just breathes deep. The ache in her chest is quiet, she knows it won’t last but she also knows somewhere deep down that it will get better. For tonight at least, that’s enough.

**Author's Note:**

> It has been literal years since I wrote anything so apologies is the formatting is crap I just wanted to write the story. Hopefully it won't make your eyes bleed.  
> Also if it's OC I apologise, I tried to keep them on target AND it's my first piece of writing to see the light of day so any feedback let me have it :)


End file.
